CORRECTION FROM SOURCE: Minister LeBlanc Receives Final Report from Ministerial Advisory Panel on the External Review of the Last In, First Out Policy

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - June 28, 2016) -

This document corrects and replaces the press release that was sent today at 14:10 ET. The link of the Ministerial Advisory Panel Report was updated.

The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, today issued the following statement:

"The Ministerial Advisory Panel has concluded its independent review of the Last In, First Out Policy, also known as LIFO, for the Northern shrimp fishery, and has delivered its final report to me.

I fully appreciate the economic importance of the Northern shrimp fishery for all harvesters and their communities in Atlantic Canada. The purpose of this independent review was to give those affected by LIFO an opportunity to share their views and concerns in an open and transparent process, and to ensure that the final decisions for the Northern shrimp fishery take those views into account.

I want to thank everyone who contributed their valuable insights and views to this process at the public meetings held in communities in Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as Iqaluit and Halifax. Hundreds of harvesters, industry representatives and Indigenous Peoples took time out of their own daily lives to share their experiences and views on LIFO and the Panel also received 41 written submissions.

I also want to express my gratitude to the Panel for the report and their hard work and dedication to this task over the past two months. The efforts of Panel Chair, Paul Sprout and members Barbara Crann, Wayne Follett and Trevor Taylor are greatly appreciated.

I look forward to reviewing the report and will take it into consideration as policy decisions regarding LIFO are made in the coming days."